All posts tagged Sig 229

Blackhawk holsters for CCW

I think the Blackhawk Serpa holster is an outstanding design for a duty holster, but it’s not a very good design for CCW.   I remember all of the bashing that use to go on about Glocks vs 1911 handguns for CCW and the arguments  usually came down to people being against manual safeties.   I think there is something to be said for not having a manual safety on a CCW gun and there is a difference between that and having one on a hunting rifle, but it does not make sense to argue that a 1911 is bad for CCW and then tote your Glock 19 around in a Level 2 holster.    You have to weigh and balance the advantages and disadvantages of a firearm and how you would want to deploy it.

 

The Blackhawk Serpa works well as a duty holster and under a vest or a jacket it can work, but I never liked the idea of having to clean a layer of clothing, find the gun release and draw the firearm.   I stopped carry a 1911 after having too many times of missing the thumb safety.   The more you layer your clothing, the more of a risk you are going to run into a problem.  Blackhawk holsters do come in an IWB design that are of a nylon design and better suited for CCW.   I have found there are some advantages of a simple nylon holster for a Kydex or leather.

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Nothing wrong with cheating

There have been moments in my training experience where I did have to speed up the process and get people in a position where they felt confident enough to have a firearm.   I’m not talking about skipping safety, I’m talking about skipping the 1000rd experience on a firing range.   I had a friend that was taking custody of a cousins baby while the baby’s mother went to drug rehab and the Father of the baby had recently gotten out of jail.   That individual broke into the home of my friend and tried to steal the baby back.   Sound crazy?  It’s actually true and although she had some level of firearm experience,  I didn’t expect to teach her how to disassemble and reassemble a Glock, but I did want her to know how to clear a malfunction.

She asked about putting a laser on a gun and I paused for a moment and asked her if she wanted one, she said yes, so I told her what to get.    She felt comfortable shooting a Sig 230 with a Crimson trace laser grip and that’s all I needed to know.  She put one box of ammo through it and had the right mindset to protect herself and I was done.   This wouldn’t have been ideal for many people, but while she planned on moving out of the area, she was unarmed and we all know what the police will tell you to do, buy a gun.

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Pocket guns and laser grips

While I was recently at the NRA Convention in Pittsburgh this month, the biggest buzz was going on over at the Ruger area.   I’m still waiting for more feedback about the Sig 238 and I’ve already learned to not jump on newly produced firearms.   There are always recalls and product alterations in the first few years and sometimes the changes are considerable.   Extractor flaws, slide cracks and sometimes something as simple as a trigger pin or screw can fail on a design.   The Ruger LCP had some issues when it first came out, but considering the number of holster designers that are making holsters for this gun and the recent surge in CCW pocket guns, this is hands down the number one gun.

I think the mentality around this type of CCW gun is that it is the smallest most concealable firearm that looks good and is fun to shoot.   Some pocket pistols are not fun to shoot and are high maintenance. Another thing that helps improve the usefulness of the firearms is the Crimson trace laser grips that attach in a very good way.   I’ve got a few older model crimson trace laser grips and I see that the biggest flaw is that the laser is on the side of the firearm and can get blocked if you do not grip the firearm properly.   The proper place for a laser is as close to the muzzle as possible or at the least right under it.

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Paddle holsters and breakage

 

I have a few customers that have sworn by Safariland holsters and claim that they don’t break like Blackhawk holsters do, but I haven’t seen it.   Gun talk and gun accessory discussions often quickly turn into soap operas and there’s a certain point I just turn it off because I know its just daytime drama.   Bad stuff can happen, defective products make it to the market, and sometimes people just don’t tell you the truth about what happened.   Kinda like the guys that blow their guns up and claim that there wasn’t anything wrong with the ammunition and then you find out they put a double charge of Bullseye pistol powder in an M1A rifle case.    Taking responsibility for actions and learning form them will help you find the right gear not acknowledging your part of the error doesn’t help the learning curve.

I have yet to ever retire a gun holster because it broke on me, but I’ve sold or retired a few because they either held too much body sweat or the belt clips didn’t perform 100% of the time.  I’ve been using The Wilderness Instructor belts for almost 10yrs and had gun holsters fail me.   Technically they didn’t break, but they failed.   I’ve been transitioning all of my Fobus paddle holsters to the closet box and replacing them with Blackhawk holsters because I’ve been very comfortable with the design and release of medium to large frame autos.   I will be looking to replace my J-frame 38 Special this summer with a .380 pistol and will be shopping a the NRA convention in Pittsburgh for one.

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Brass knuckle gun grips!!!

I got stories to tell you about the things my Grandfather use carry that are now all illegal to carry,  everything from night sticks to brass knuckles.   I wish I would have been able to get a hold of them before his Estate sold everything, but I don’t  think my parents would have let a 14yr old keep those.   I recently watched a Gabe Suarez video about the AK rifle and there was a short segment about fighting with the AK.   I have found the AK to have several sharp areas that can cut or hurt the operator if they don’t watch their movement.   The good thing about that is you also have a nice sharp a rough stick to beat a bad guy with if you ever happen to be in the nightmare situation where you run out of ammo.

When it comes to handguns, they always retain the weight that they have and can be used as a striking weapon, but pistol whipping is probable not a very good tactic to train with.   Hogue grips are on all of my primary CCW guns except one and I don’t think that will ever change.   Having an improved retention over you firearm is important because anyone trained to know how the body moves is going to be able to take the gun away from you if you aren’t paying attention to retaining it.  When I trained with my primary fighting pistol, for combat, when the gun runs dry it can be used as a tool to poke and smash.   If need be it has more weight than most hammers if that doesn’t give you a sense of what an empty gun is capable of doing.

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Issues with carrying pocket CCW

I really hate to have to bring up some of these discussions because you don’t want to volunteer bad behavior stories to the anti-gun crowd, but I’m also not a fan of drunk drivers and people that talk on their cell phones while driving.  My first experience in witnessing stupid CCW holders was when I met a guy that got his first CCW gun and it was a desert eagle 44 magnum.    Do I really need to explain this one to you?   I don’t know any police departments that would allow a cop to carry something like that in a urban environment and I’d have to question the level of training someone had before they thought to deploy a gun in that caliber.   I think there would be more times that I would second guess taking a shot because I would be afraid the bullet was going to end up in the next city over.

When it comes to pocket carrying, there are now CCW pants that will help retain your firearm if you are laying down or need to lean back.   I’ve seen guns fall out of holsters and they can fall out of pockets.   I’ve lost pistol magazines because the mag holders didn’t work in horizontal positions.  Don Hume holsters have a front pocket holster that is added security and will help keep pocket lint out of many parts of a gun.   There is always a learning curve when it comes to CCW and you’ll find out real fast which clothing builds up lint faster.   Holsters can help keep a gun reliable and prevent you from having to strip the gun down all the time because it’s getting cluttered with things that should not  be in there.

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CCW vs Cop holsters

There is a reason that Cops want locking holster, statistics show that many police get shot by their own guns, and I’m sure there are unknown statistics on the number of times Cops have had guns fall out of holsters.   I recently read a review by an LAPD Officer that sheered an entire gun and holster off of his side while the paddle and belt kept part of it in place.   Anything that can happen will happen and probable already did happen.   I remember when Youtube first got popular there were several people bashing Fobus holsters on how easy it was to rip the guns off of people by tearing the holster.   Truth is, it can happen, but it doesn’t happen that often.   When it comes to CCW, most of the time you won’t be dealing with snagging firearms unless you go to retrieve them and they get caught on a shirt or a jacket.

Level I holsters are for, in my humble opinion, all about speed.    A nice IWB holster for concealed carry should keep the trigger protected and be as comfortable and easy to retrieve as the operator desires.  When it comes to level II Serpa holsters, I think this is a smart thing to consider for anyone in an open carry situation.   Yes the bad guy may know how to release  Blackhawk holsters, but your average bad guy probable doesn’t know how to clear a malfunction or do speed loads either.   If you are that concerned about the gun being taken from you, then don’t open carry.   I believe that the Serpa holster is the best way to carry a secondary firearm also.   The Blackhawk Level III holster is best left for law enforcement and people that are in high risk situations.

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Magazine pouches, fobus vs Blackhawk

I have had a lot of experience using nylon gun holsters and I really can’t say anything bad about them except for the thumb break stile holsters.   I’m not a big fan of holsters with straps on them and I presently only prefer the Blackhawk Serpa holsters for locking and firearm retention.   My Fobus holsters have always served me well and I believe I may own one holster for every medium and large frame auto in my collection.  Fobus makes a nice paddle holster, but I have had experience with the magazine holders and I am not a big fan.

I have quite a few nylon magazine holders and they are very good and keep the magazines where I want them, I do not like to use the nylon magazine holders for CCW and after a short stint at using the Fobus holsters magazine holders, I found out that there is a limit to how many paddle style holsters I can wear comfortable.   I do not recommend the fobus paddle magazine holders because you will feel it dig into you if you have to roll around.  The Blackhawk single and double stack magazines are the best because they actually have tension and mags won’t fly out easy and they aren’t covered like a nylon magazine holder is.

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Paddle holsters and CCW

This is an area that can cause much debate in the CCW world because if you are concealing a firearm in a paddle holster you are almost always going to have to wear a vest or a long coat, not all environments can tolerate a jacket, and most jackets are either not going to be long enough or they will make you sweat, just in for concealing a firearm in this manor.  I really like the Blackhawk Serpa holsters, but they do extend a little further out on the body that something like a Don Hume Jit holster which is flat up against a belt.

Firearm retention in a holster is important for LEO and people carrying open carry, but not so much for CCW.  Yes you may get in a scuffle and have a firearm fly out of a  holster, but the Blackhawk holsters make get a little difficult to release if you are not in a good position, there are always methods and tactics that people should train with and trying a  holster out in an adverse position is something  you should try doing.  Try pulling the firearm laying on  your side, or in the seated position and you’ll know what I mean.   If you are sitting down, you’ll realize how odd it will feel and how high you’ll have to left your shoulder to clear it.

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Don’t expect a do it all gadget on your firearms

I saw a recent night fighting test where they basically showed how night sights become useless as soon as a flashlight gets turned on and the glowing dots won’t help you in low light conditions depending on your flashlight gun techniques.   The whole flashlight thing on handguns is a debate in itself because there are so many things to consider.   There are flashlight retention devices like the Section 8 Tactical ultimate retention device that have helped improve grip and freeing up your hand to open doors or do magazine changes, but it is true that it’s not as steady as a flashlight mounted on the firearm.

Night sights are nice, but who would get into a shoot out in their home without turning on a light or using a flashlight?   One thing to consider are Crimson Trace Laser grips for home defense because not only can you tell depth of a target in low light you can also get better cover and still know where your gun is pointed.   There are some really good defensive training DVD’s coming out an Massad Ayoob will be going over using laser grips in home situations.   I highly recommend using lasers on home firearms as well as flashlights, I think those are far more practical and advantageous than using night sights.

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